Archive for the ‘furry’ category

Poaching Goes On…

December 2, 2009

– – I’m not talking about cooking eggs here, but rather the illegal hunting of rare and endangered animals protected by law, often just for a body part such as their hide or the ivory of elephants.

In a three month operation, African authorities in Nairobi, Kenya seized over 3,800 pounds of illegally-taken elephant ivory, together with leopard, crocodile, and snake skins.   Poaching has increased in Kenya in the past two years, with more than 216 elephants killed illegally this year compared to 47 in 2007.

The elephant populations of many African nations were being decimated until a global ban on the ivory trade was implemented in 1989.   In 1973 an estimated 167,000 elephants roamed Kenya, with their population dropping to 16,000 in 1989.  Since the ban on the ivory trade, the Kenya elephant population has grown to 35,000 this year…

Deer Season…

December 1, 2009

– – It’s the first day of Pennsylvania’s twelve day deer season as I write, and I had originally planned on posting a disturbing picture of a shot and bloodied deer, the true result of what is euphemistically called, “the harvest.”  We ain’t talking about heads of cabbage here…but I must accept what I can’t change.

Instead, I will fantasize about a revenge for the antlered, that a mighty champion might arise to turn the tables on the hunters.  I will pray for a Rambuck, since turnabout is fair play…“God would have mercy on them, ‘Rambuck’ will not…”

Pray for the prey…

Hopping Mad!

November 24, 2009

– – Let sleeping kangaroos lie!–Such might be the advice of a 49-year-old Australian walking his dog who startled a sleeping ‘roo Sunday morning in Arthur’s Creek northeast of Melbourne.

The man’s dog chased the ‘roo into a pond, and that’s when clobberin’ time began!  The kangaroo turned at that point and pinned the dog underwater!  When the man tried to pull his pet free, the ‘roo took on all comers, using his powerful hind legs to tear a deep gash into the guy’s abdomen and face.

The guy had to throw an elbow to the five-foot kangaroo’s throat to get him to end the attack.  His dog, Rocky, was “half-drowned.”

–That was one mighty marsupial!

Snarly Dudes Rule “Twilight, New Moon!”

November 19, 2009

– – I’m not into the Twilight saga, ’cause it’s geared in large measure for teenaged girls; romance just ain’t my thing, especially when the romantic leads spend much of their time staring intensely, pining away,  and brooding.  The fact that werewolves appear in the movie, however, rouses my furry interest. Vampires are OK, especially if they’re cool and classy like Dracula, Lestat, or Angel, but bring in even a mundane werewolf, and you’ve got me hooked!

So let’s talk werewolves, which is where it’s at– – this movie deviates from the usual trend of showing a nice, slow, and usually agonizing werewolf transformation.  In my opinion, slow and agonizing is the way to go, so the fans can appreciate it as well as the significance of what’s going on. The lycanthropes of New Moon, however, explode mid-leap into a fully-transformed state, with shreds of clothing flying off them. To their credit, the New Moon weres are impressively large, and are not cookie-cutter interchangeable clones; they are distinguishable by size and fur color, with alpha male Sam being the largest and having black fur.  Other weres are russet-hued, silvery, dark brown, and dark grey.  They also use the personalized eyes of the actors in the digital wolves, which are otherwise as realistic as possible. An additional plus is that the actors are mostly of Native American descent.

So paws up for the wild things, even though this shallow romance has been rated with only  **1/2 out of four stars…

Cow Takes A Dip…

November 19, 2009

– – In Spartanburg, South Carolina a woman was udderly surprised when she found a 650-pound cow in her covered swimming pool.  Once again, there was one incredulous 911 dispatcher.  No one was sure what the cow was doing in the swimming pool, although the dog paddle was mentioned…

It took five men from county rescue and a sling to get the cow out of the swimming pool.  The cow was unharmed (although water isn’t good for leather), and thought to belong to a neighbor.  It was speculated that the cow escaped, thought that the covered pool was solid ground, and just kept walking…


We Soldier On…

November 15, 2009

Furry for Life!– -Thank ‘ya, Esteemed Readers, for helping Foxsylvania pass the 60,000 hits mark!  May chewy treats, cozy dens, warm huggles, and shiny things await you in the great furafter…

What?!–Did you think you’d get 72 virgins out of me, or sumptin’?!    😉

–You Hit a WHAT?!

November 7, 2009

ODD Elephant Sideswiped– – It’s not unusual for deer or cows to cross Oklahoma’s rural highways, but imagine driving home…from church, no less…and hitting an elephant!

I swear that I am not making this up! About 80 miles north of Oklahoma City in Enid, a guy in his late 60’s swerved his SUV at the last second and ended up sideswiping a 29-year-old pachyderm that had escaped from a nearby circus late Wednesday and wandered onto U.S. 81.  “Didn’t have time to hit the brakes.  The elephant blended in with the road,” said the driver.  “At the very last second I said ‘elephant!'” Now that’s something you don’t see every day…or hear said every day!

After sideswiping the elephant, the motorist’s wife flagged some people down and used their cell phone to call police, where the dispatcher didn’t quite believe her.  “You hit a WHAT?,” he said.  One can also imagine the reaction these folks  got upon calling the accident in to their friendly auto insurance adjuster.

“So help me Hanna, had I hit that elephant, not swerved, it would have knocked it off its legs, and it would have landed right on top of us,” summarized the motorist.  “We’d have been history.” Clearly, it would have been a no-win scenario.

Fortunately the couple, who own a wheat farm, weren’t history.  The 8-foot, 4,500-pound elephant suffered a broken tusk and a leg wound, with a local vet saying it appeared to have escaped major injury.

(- -I just love stories with happy endings, don’t you?- -This true story would have made a great episode of Courage, the Cowardly Dog…Eustace and Muriel are riding along in their truck, when Eustace screams, “Elephant!”  Courage also screams, his eyes leaving their sockets…

– -BTW, hear any good elephant jokes lately?)   😉

Deer Takes The Plunge!

November 3, 2009

Deer-In-Pool01– -Swimming is great exercise, and it was no Halloween prank when a deer in Gastonia, North Carolina got a workout after he jumped from a balcony through a glass roof and into the area surrounding an indoor pool at the Ashley Arms Historic Apartments on October 30th. After pacing the pool’s perimeter a few times, the deer took the plunge and started swimming laps for about 15 minutes, looking for a way out!

Maintenance supervisors were able to use a net to herd the tiring animal to the shallow end of the pool, where he walked up the steps and ran away, successfully avoiding the traffic. – – It was all caught on security camera video!– -And wait until the does catch a look at that buck’s swimmer’s bod!

The “Real” Werewolf on MonsterQuest

November 1, 2009

Gevaudan werewolf– – MonsterQuest recently aired a two-hour episode investigating the killing of over 100 peasants by a werewolf-like creature in southern France during the mid-1700’s.  As the slayings occurred over 240 years ago, extensive speculation and reconstruction was involved as provided by a cryptozoologist and a criminal investigator.

The Beast of Gevaudan slaughtered primarily women and children in an often gruesome fashion, at times decapitating the victims, eviscerating them, or consuming limbs.  The killings began in 1764, and continued for about three years, drawing the attention of Louis XV whose expert hunters dispatched a large wolf but failed to halt the peasant slayings.

That task was accomplished by one Jean Chastel, who used (–what else?) a silver bullet to kill the beast.  Speculation by the MonsterQuest investigators and others has been that the true “werewolf” was in fact a striped hyena, which may have actually been trained to accomplish his mayhem by Chastel himself!

The Beast of Gevaudan will continue to fascinate speculators, and the events form the historical basis for much of the rich present day werewolf sagas, which one hopes will continue for the indefinite future…150px-Woman_&_La_Bete

The Abominable Snowman on MonsterQuest!

October 26, 2009

Abominable– – MonsterQuest finally came up with their long-awaited episode on the Yeti on October 25th after previous ho-hum episodes on wild dogs and rats.- – Here at last is a cryptid worthy of consideration!  The Abominable Snowman differs from his North American Bigfoot cousin in being more aggressive and carnivorous; he’s nocturnal, and goes after both people and their livestock in the Himalayas.- – You gotta give the big guy credit for that!

Examined were hair and footprint evidence as well as images from cameras.  The most recent footprint from 2008 was actually regarded to be a hoofprint, kind of a drag-impression in the snow distorted by multiple freeze and thaw cycles.  Fifty-year old hair samples supposedly from the skullcap of a Yeti were also analyzed, and found to be from a deer-like creature.  Picture images from cameras set up at different locations were of the usual birds with perhaps an antlered beast or two thrown in.  Lastly, eyewitness accounts of the Yeti were chalked off as being misidentified bears!

There were some interesting sidebars; apparently, the Nazis had sent teams out in pursuit of the Yeti, and locals led the Nazis to a supposed lair where they shot…a bear! I also loved a scene where an investigative team came upon a slaughtered and partly-eaten goat, perhaps consumed by the Yeti; the lead investigator indulged himself in the treat, which had been lying out for five or six days, and found it to be like jerky…”rather tasty, actually,” he proclaimed.–Anyone else up for five-day old goat, partly eaten by who knows what?–Didn’t think so…

It’s well been pointed out that even known identified species are hard to track over wild terrain, so I’m really not surprised by the lack of Yeti evidence. –And why do we call him Abominable, together with “terrifying” and “ferocious?” – – Doesn’t the Yeti just need a good spin doctor?–Why not as in the Tundra cartoon, come up with an Amiable Snowman?